The Vampire Diaries: The Cure Kalijah
by lupinskitten
Summary: Elijah and Katherine work together to steal the cure, and avenge Kol's death. 2 chapters, shipper heavy, complete.
1. Chapter 1

**The Cure**

Katherine knew he was there the instant she set foot in the door. It shut behind her, and she turned slowly to face him.

"Katerina," he said, in that calm, controlling tone that made her insides liquefy.

"Elijah… un-daggered, then, are we?"

She'd watched Klaus stab him in the chest, seen his face go white, felt the floor tremor as he fell. "So you've caught me at last. Will you send me to Klaus?"

He smiled. "No, not this time." He indicated the rest of her apartment. "This is nice. You really should have a human flat-mate, though, if you want to keep certain vampires out."

Dark eyes watched him like a hawk as he prowled through the living room, picking up a framed picture of a previous occupant and putting it down again. His appearance was immaculate, his manners equally so. She had always liked that about him, his ruthlessness hidden behind a tailored suit.

"It seems," he said after a time, "that our friends in Mystic Falls are after a cure, for Elena."

Her head tilted, a frown furrowing her brow.

"My sister has never been anything if not impulsive. She caused an accident and since Elena died with Damon's blood in her… well, you can imagine how displeased Klaus is to be without a source of blood to make his hybrids."

Katherine didn't care about that; her mind was on her doppelganger.

Gazing out into the street, Elijah said, "Kol tried to warn them about waking Silas, but they wouldn't listen. Thanks to Elena and her brother, mine is dead, staked with the white oak." His fingers tensed, knuckles cracking as the muscle in his jaw moved in anger.

Careful to keep her distance, Katherine said, "You want vengeance."

"Yes. I told Elena I would not harm her, or the Salvatores… I said nothing about Jeremy." He glanced at her and a chill ran down her spine. This was the Original she had run from for over 500 years, a man as ruthless as he was completely true to his word. He sat down in a chair, resting his arms on either side. "If we were to obtain the cure, I see no reason why I could not barter your freedom with Klaus. Or perhaps you are … _content_ with your wandering ways?"

He indicated the stylish room around them and amusement danced in his eyes. "As I remember, you always _did _want me to pursue you."

"And you refused to catch me, because then the game would be at an end." Katherine drew nearer, drawing his attention to her curves. "So either you tire of our game, or at last your desire for revenge has overcome your nobility. But what is it you have always said? There can be nobility in vengeance? So, in exchange for the cure, and for dealing with Jeremy, I get my freedom? No more running, no more hiding? Klaus will leave me in peace?"

"It would be a fair trade, would it not?"

She smiled as she uncorked a decanter of wine and poured them each a glass. She sauntered back to him and held out the goblet. "Then we are… partners?"

"Yes," he answered, accepting it.

Reddish liquid swirled at her fingertips. "Why do you want the cure?"

"To teach my remaining brother a lesson in manners. But then, that is none of your affair." He smiled as he drank.

Katherine smiled back, her eyes lingering on him as shadows fell. A brother for a brother, and the price of freedom at her fingertips.

It seemed fair.


	2. Chapter 2

Katherine was accustomed to his presence now. She sensed it as she entered, dropping her things on the small round table just inside the door.

"Do you have it?" he asked, hands in his pockets as he gazed out onto the street.

Shadows deepened around them. Katherine said, "Yes."

"Jeremy Gilbert?"

Her heels clicked on the floor as she descended the steps. "Dead."

"Did he suffer?"

From his tone, it wasn't clear which answer he wanted. She shrugged. "Less than Kol did."

Glancing at her, Elijah drew further into the room.

"Let me see it."

"There _were _complications," she said from the sideboard, pouring her usual glass of wine.

He narrowed his eyes. "Such as…?"

"Silas is awake. I had to give him Jeremy to get the cure."

Elijah's brow furrowed. She sipped her wine. "I hope your brother was… _wrong_."

"Kol was often impulsive but not usually wrong."

Waving her glass in the air, she said, "Then that means… what? Silas will kill all of us?"

Elijah crossed the room. "What Silas desired most as a human was to be with the woman he loved. Several centuries of imprisonment won't have changed that. Still, the cure is useful." He held out his hand for it.

Silence fell. Katherine eyed him and put down her glass.

"I know you're not so foolish as to keep it from me, so where is it?"

Brown curls tossed over her shoulder. "It's in a safe place."

"I _could_ compel it out of you."

She stepped nearer. "I want your _assurance_ that you will broker my freedom with Klaus, and that he will _not_ use the cure on me, to have another human blood bag so he can make hybrids."

This brought a faint smile to his lips. "You _have _given this some thought."

"I had nothing else to do while tracking them across the island."

Searching her eyes, he said, "You have my word, you will not be given the cure."

Katherine nodded and backed away from him. "I'll get it for you, but first I want a shower. You have no idea how disgusting it is to pretend to be _her_."

She left him, stripping off her sweater and dropping it on the floor. Elijah considered for a moment and then followed. He leaned against the doorjamb, watching as she unzipped her boots. Tossing her long hair over her bare shoulder, she asked coyly, "Do you _mind_?"

"No, I don't think I do," he answered.

Katherine smirked and drew her shirt off over her head. By the time it hit the floor, she was in his arms. He nipped the skin of her throat, his fingers running up her spine. Their mouths captured one another, her feet leaving the floor as he joined her on the bed. His suit coat flew across the room. Katherine flipped them over so she could straddle him, brushing her hair out of her face. Irritated, he sent them both crashing to the floor. They smashed into the bureau, knocking over books and breaking glass ornaments. He pinned her against the wall, the tip of his tongue sucking on her earlobe. Showing her teeth, she shoved him away and tore his shirt open, scattering buttons.

"Armani," he hissed, and she laughed at him before landing on the carpet.

Flowers scattered, drops of water falling around them as a vase smashed into the casement. Teasingly, he caressed her throat with his mouth. She snarled at him, forcing him to lift his head. She flipped them over—and he landed her on her back again. Her head tilted back, her fangs appearing as five hundred years of desire gave way to lust. Their bodies moved together, her fingers digging into his back and causing him to bleed. He bit her, eliciting another snarl, and her grip on him tightened. It was nothing like the last time, when she'd been human; he'd been so cautious of harming her; now there was as much anger as desire in their lovemaking. She liked it. Her body stiffened and collapsed in his arms, her eyes opening to find him looking down at her. His fingertips trailed across her face, his thumb caressing her lips. Lines wavered around his eyes as he licked the blood from his fangs, which she had not seen until now. Even his frightening countenance had its own particular grace.

"You shouldn't have run away from me, that night," he whispered. "I would have saved you."

"I know that now," she said, and hungrily drew his mouth to hers.


End file.
